Tuesday, 8 February 2011

One of the best Syrah in Cortona: Stefano Amerighi

Another good tasting discover: The Stefano's Amerighi Syrah!

Walking through Vini naturali in Roma (natural/real wine exhibition) we discover a really superbe Shyraz by Stefano Amerighi. His wine are organic and biodinamic and this is not only my opinion.... it is a great Syrah recognized world wide!He, his wife and his 1 year daughter Rebecca Luna are really nice and"special". We had immediately a feeling with them!

The Amerighi vineyard face the sunset on Cortona, we will go now to visit their cave....Let's go together?

Here you are some more info about him and his wine!

History of the Company

The farm, Stefano Amerighi, was born from a wish that matured over the years, to be able to produce a grand Syrah through the farming traditions of the family, passion, knowledge in the world of wine and the practice of biodynamics. In order to reach this objective, Stefano Amerighi has identified an area of Chiuso di Cortona (‘Chiuso’ is a hilly area which offers better quality for viticulture in Cortona), named Poggiobello di Farneta, in the middle of which, as though it were a cru, there are two well exposed hills to south, south-east, closed within an old pebbly street to the west, a grove to the south and a ridge to the east to close the panorama. The climatic and geological research carried out on the farm have later confirmed that this is the suitable terroir for bedding out clones and the selections of Syrah, personally chosen with care in Valle del Rodano by Stefano himself. The meetings with Dr. Federico Staderini, Dr. Vincenzo Tommasi, Francois Bouchet and many collaborators who have accompanied Stefano in recent years have made it possible to integrate the initial wish to produce high quality wine with that of a project on a larger scale, that is, to make the company into a laboratory for the sustainability of agriculture. Today, Amerighi’s intention is to propose a natural practice as an alternative to conventional agriculture through the cultivation of cereals, vegetables and fruit to the breeding of animals, together with the production of a great Syrah!

The Vineyards:The company covers a total surface area of approximately 14 hectares of which 8.5 have been destined as vineyards, the realisation of which was preceded by an in depth geological investigation carried out in 2002 by Dr. Bruno. The study highlighted a clayey matrix with a strong presence of silt, slightly calcareous soil, and well equipped with microelements, and has suggested, together with an onsite climatic investigation, the choice for cloning, rootstocks and plantation order. From 7,000 vines per hectare, approximately 4,000 kilos of grapes are obtained, with a production of not more than 600 grams per plant. The running of the vineyard abides by the dictate of natural viticulture and biodynamic agriculture: pruning and the working of the ground are looked into according to lunar and planetary phases; phytosanitary defense is entrusted solely to the use of copper and sulphur which is distributed in minimal quantities, thanks also to maceration and the use of natural infusions; biodynamic preparations allow the enlivening of the soil and avoid any kind of fertilizing and winter ploughing which structures the land during the cold season. All this is done to succeed in bringing the healthy bunches to maturation and to consent a vinification totally free of corrective and chemical products. After de-stemming, a part of the grapes are left whole and another part is slightly foot pressed and manually placed into small concrete vats without the use of pumps. Fermentation is automatic, without selected yeasts, sulphur and controlled temperature. Refining is carried out in wood and cement for 14 months and the wine is bottled without filtration or stabilization.